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ADDRESSES 



HENRY WAYLAND HILL, LL. D., 



BUFFALO, N. Y. 



On September 30, 1902, 



In accepHjig for (he Buffalo Historical Society the 
Lincoln Statue, presented by tfie Lincoln Birthday 
Association . 



On January 13, 1903, 



In presenting, for the members of the Board of 
Managers of the Buffalo Historical Society, a Gold 
Key to Hon. Andreiv Langdon. 



[Reprint from Buffalo Historical Society 
Publications, Vol. VI.] 



*•■■■ »'.!n> 
JUL oO 1514 






PRESS UNION AND TIMES, 
BUFFALO. N. Y. 



ADDRESS 

OF 

SENATOR HENRY WAYLAND HILL, 

ON SEPTEMBER 30, ig02, 

hi accepting in behalf of the Buffalo Historical Society, the bronze 
statue of Abraham Lincoln, presented by the Lincoln 
Birthday Association, through its presi- 
dent, Joseph P. Dudley, Esq. 



Vice-President Stringer, Major Dudley, President of the Lincoln 
Birthday Association, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

In behalf of the Buffalo Historical Society, I am authorized to ac- 
cept this bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln and the Memorial Col- 
lection of the late Julius E. Francis, presented by you. Major Dudley, 
in behalf of the Lincoln Birthday Association to this Society for its 
custody and preservation. In doing so, I cannot refrain from allud- 
ing to the services which Mr. Francis and your Association have 
rendered to perpetuate in memory the exemplary life and sublimely 
patriotic struggle of Abraham Lincoln to preserve the Union. 

Mr. Francis may not have been a disciple of Carlyle, who affirmed 
that hero-worship is the cornerstone of all society; yet, in his devo- 
tion, he spared neither time nor treasure to exalt the life and heroic 
services of Abraham Lincoln. Of the forty years he was engaged in 
pharmacy in this city, the latter half of that time was largely occu- 
pied by him in collecting relics of the Civil War, in securing auto- 
graphs of its soldiers and sailors with their military record, in ar- 
ranging and holding Lincoln Birthday anniversary exercises, and 
building up, inspiring and equipping an association that would con- 
tinue his work after him. He visited Gettysburg and other battle- 
fields, attended encampments of Civil War veterans and other Na- 
tional assemblages, and inspected public and departmental archives 
at Washington. In 1873, Mr. Francis and fifty other prominent citi- 
zens of Buffalo, representing all the states and territories of the 
LTnion, memorialized the 43rd Congress to make February 12th a 
legal holiday. This was supplemented by an alternate memorial, 
signed by fifty young men in the public schools of Buffalo, between 
the ages of fourteen and nineteen years, also representing the various 
states and territories. We are pleased that many of these gentlemen 



4 ADDRESSES OF 

are present on this occasion and that they have lived to see February 
I2th made a legal holiday. 

At the first Lincoln Birthday celebration held at St. James Hall 
in this city on February 12, 1874, Hon. N. K. Hall presided and our 
esteemed historian, J. N. Larned, delivered the address, and the ex- 
ercises consisted also of readings, poems, patriotic music and the 
distribution of sixty thousana beautifully engraved cards to the pu- 
pils in the public schools of this city, all at the expense of Mr. 
Francis. Twenty thousand dollars were expended by Mr. Francis in 
his twenty years' service of devotion. 

In 1877 he incorporated the Lincoln Birthday Association, and its 
first trustees were such well-known men as Pascal P. Pratt, Fred- 
erick L. Danforth, J. R. Brownell, Joseph P. Dudley, Orrin P. Rams- 
dell, Julius E. Francis, William C. Francis, S. Cary Adams and 
George Meacham. The present officers and trustees are Major Jo- 
seph P. Dudley, president; G. Barrett Rich, vice-president; Fred- 
erick W. Danforth, secretary and treasurer; Hon. James Ash, Frank 
L. Danforth, C. Townsend Wilson, William E. Danforth, George C. 
Meacham and Guilford R. Francis. These gentlemen and others, 
\yho from time to time have comprised the Lincoln Birthday Associa- 
tion, for a quarter of a century, have freely given their time and at- 
tention to its affairs. This involved a supervisory control of the 
valuable historic memorial collections, the administration of the trust 
funds bequeathed by Mr. Francis and the distribution of memorial 
literature, commemorative of the public services of President Lin- 
coln. 

Before this Society had made plans for its permanent home, 
President Andrew Langdon had conferred with your trustees in re- 
lation to the assumption on the part of this Society, of the custody 
of the Francis Memorial Collection and the execution of the trust 
provisions of Mr. Francis' will. When it was decided to erect this 
fire-proof building for the ultimate uses of the Buffalo Historical 
Society, your trustees, in accordance with the wishes of Mr. Francis, 
expressed in his will, that "a room be constructed in a fire-proof 
building for the preservation of his memorial collection," suggested 
that this building be so planned as to provide such a room. President 
Andrew Langdon laid the matter before the Board of Managers of 
this Society, who were unanimously in favor of the suggestion. Such 
a room has been provided on the second floor of the building, and is 
to be known as the Lincoln Memorial Room. In addition to this, 
your trustees offered the further suggestion, that the main central 
hall of this building be so planned as to admit of the placing therein 
of a bronze statue of Mr. Lincoln, to be procured out of the trust 
funds left by Mr. Francis and the residue of such funds to be given to 
the Buffalo Historical Society in consideration of its providing such 
memorial room and assuming the custody of the memorial collection 
and such bronze statue, in perpetuity. 

A committee on the part of your Association, consisting of Major 
Dudley, G. Barrett Rich, and Mr. Frederick W. Danforth, was ap- 
pointed to confer with a committee on the part of the Buffalo His- 
torical Society, consisting of President Langdon, whose esthetic taste 
and wide knowledge of the works of art especially fitted him to serve 
on such a committee, Mr. Frank H. Severance, secretary of the Buf- 



SENATOR HENRY W. HILL. 5 

falo Historical Society, and myself. It is but fair to say that Mr. 
Danforth and Mr. Langdon performed the largest part of the work 
of the joint committee. They secured the services of the well-known 
sculptor, Charles H. Niehaus, who had designed the statue of Mr. 
Lmcoln, at Muskegon, Michigan, of which this statue is a replica, 
except in some of its details. It was cast by the Gorham Manufac- 
turing Company of Providence, and is regarded by critics as a work 
of art. It represents Mr. Lincoln in a sitting posture, with legs 
crossed and document in hand, looking directly into the unknown 
future, as though he were meditating upon what grounds under the 
Constitution to justify the Emancipation Proclamation. It will also 
suggest many other trying moments in his eventful life. It is need- 
less to say that the memory of his life work could not be more en- 
duringly perpetuated. The present and future generations will be up- 
lifted, as they reflect upon the noble life, symbolized in this imposing 
statue. 

The memorial collection, which you have presented and which 
may be seen in the Lincoln Memorial Room, is of great historic 
value. The elaborately inlaid case is made of pieces of wood taken 
from Faneuil Hall. Independence Hall, the Charter oak, the frigate 
"Constitution," the Old South Church and other historic temples, 
dedicated to civil and religious liberty. The Soldiers' and Sailors' 
case contains seventy-six battlefield trophies and upwards of ten 
thousand autographs of soldiers and sailors who fought in the Civil 
War, "with their rank, regiment, date of enlistment and discharge, 
including the battles in which they were engaged." In addition to 
these are many other autographs, illustrated envelopes used during 
the war, and other historic papers. In presenting these to the Buf- 
falo Historical Society, with the assurance that they will be pre- 
served in perpetuity, we believe that the trustees of your Associa- 
tion have fully executed the trust provisions of Mr. Francis' will. In 
accepting them, the managers of the Bufifalo Historical Society un- 
dervalue neither their historic worth, nor the lofty patriotism which 
their donor intended that they would inculcate. 

This marble building, with its stately Doric columns, its spacious 
halls and classic outlines, overlooking an inland lake with its en- 
virons of surpassing beauty, is a fitting repository for such a monu- 
ment, as this memorial collection and superb statue constitute, to the 
greatest American of his generation. School children in scores and 
people of this and other states will come here to read again the thrill- 
ing story of the life of their beloved President. What a life that 
was ! Cradled in a Kentucky cabin, inured to all the deprivations 
and hardships of pioneer life, without the advantages of schooling or 
money, this child of the prairies, this self-trained lawyer of the 
plains, became the matchless champion of human freedom. While 
Congresses disputed and Cabinets wrangled, he, in contesting the 
senatorship with Douglas, fully realizing the irreconcilability be- 
tween the sentiments of the people at the North and at the South on 
the slavery question and also realizing the immanence of the con- 
flict that might disrupt the Union, declared that "a house divided 
against itself cannot stand. I believe this Government cannot en- 
dure permanently half slave and half free." Even though the con- 
flict were averted by the recognition of slavery, still that would not 



6 ADDRESSES OF 

avail, for this Government could not permanently endure on such a 
basis. He had a profound conception of the fundamental principles 
of the Declaration of Independence. "Life, liberty and the pursuit 
of happiness" were not only "inalienable rights," bestowed by the 
Creator upon His creatures, but living principles, which the Supreme 
Court, the Congress and the President of the United States might 
not disregard. These were eternal, while kingdoms, principalities 
and powers were temporal. In his application of these principles to 
the exigencies of the times, Mr. Lincoln not only completely refuted 
the doctrine of the Dred Scott decision, but also exhibited qualities 
of the loftiest statesmanship and became the recognized leader of the 
people at the North. His power of statement was unsurpassed ; his 
logical argument was resistless ; his comprehension of the mo- 
mentous questions at issue was remarkable. His great heart throbbed 
in sympathy with the suffering and down-trodden colored race at 
the South. He knew their limitations, but he felt that the Creator 
had bestowed upon them these inalienable rights, of which they 
might not lawfully be deprived. This position he maintained with 
unflinching steadfastness. He spoke in many eastern states and was 
attended with large, enthusiastic audiences and made a profound im- 
pression wherever he appeared. 

In commenting on his Cooper Institute speech, the New York 
Tribune said : "Mr. Lincoln is one of nature's orators, using his 
rare powers solely to elucidate and convince, though their inevitable 
effect is to delight and electrify as well. We present a very full and 
accurate report of this speech, yet the tones, the gestures, the kindling 
eye, and the mirth-provoking look, defy the reporter's skill, fhe 
vast assemblage frequently rang with cheers and shouts of applause, 
which were prolonged and intensified at the close. No man ever 
before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York 
audience." 

People at the North were electrified. Mr. Lincoln became the 
logical candidate of the Republicans for the Presidency in i860. 
Party and sectional strife threatened to disrupt the Union. The 
South knew no bounds to their demands for the extension of slavery; 
the North was a wall of adamant against such extension. The con- 
flict was inevitable. Still in the presence of such civil commotion, 
which shook the Nation to its foundation, Mr. Lincoln, with the 
vision of a seer, in closing his first inaugural address on March 4. 
1861, made use of these prophetic words: "The mystic cords of 
memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every 
living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell 
the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, 
by the better angels of our nature." He saw beyond the smoke of 
battle a reunited nation. He understood the temper of the people 
at the North as well as at the South. He knew the genius of our 
Republican institutions and had supreme faith in their fitness for 
government "of the people, by the people and for the people." 

He spent many sleepless vigils alone in brooding over the out- 
come of various battles of the Civil War, still he did not lose faith 
in our civil institutions and in the ultimate success of our armies. 
He left nothing undone that would tend to restore this country to a 
condition of peace. He wielded the extraordinary powers vested in 



SENATOR HENRY W, HILL. 7 

the Executive under the Constitution more freely than they had ever 
been exercised before to uphold and strengthen the sovereign pow- 
ers of the Nation. He justified his Emancipation Proclamation, as a 
war measure that would weaken the enemy and strengthen the Union 
forces. His generous and sympathetic nature was proverbial and ex- 
pressed itself in many ways and in such words as "with malice 
toward none; with charity for all," found in his second inaugural. 
He was the revered President. General W. T. Sherman said that 
"Lincoln was the purest, the most generous and the most magnani- 
mous of men." He loved his country whose freedom was his in- 
spiration. His Gettysburg speech, like the funeral oration of Pericles, 
is the embodiment of true patriotism. 

It has been said that "Abraham Lincoln was the first American to 
reach the lonely heights of immortal fame." 

"He lives in endless fame 
All honor to his patriot name." 

This marble building may crumble, this bronze statue may wear 
away, but the name and deeds of Abraham Lincoln will not perish 
from the earth. 



ADDRESSES OF 



ADDRESS 

OF 

SENATOR HENRY WAYLAND HILL, 

ON JANUARY 13, ig03, 

hi presenting, for the Members of the Board of Managers of the 

Buffalo Historical Society, a Gold Key to Hon. Andtew 

Latigdon, President of the Buffalo Historical Society, 

with which to open the massive bronze doors at the 

northerly entrance of the Buffalo Historical 

Society building, which doors were 

the gift of President Langdon 

to the society. 



President Langdon: 

Your associates on the Board of Managers of the Buffalo His- 
torical Society take this occasion to express publicly their apprecia- 
tion of your long and distinguished services as president of this So 
ciety, and of their personal regard for you. At the time of your first 
election, in January, 1894, there was very little to encourage, and 
much to discourage one in assuming the duties of president of the 
Buffalo Historical Society. Its location was not favorable to its 
growth, or to the maintenance of public interest in its affairs. Its 
limitations were recognized by all. 

After the late Dr. Joseph C. Greene and the late Dr. Frederick H. 
James had presented their respective collections to this Society, it 
was apparent to all that there was not sufficient space on the third 
floor of the Library Building adequately to exhibit its historic prop- 
erties. 

Its archives were not easily accessible to the public. This was 
due to the fact that it was necessary to climb two long flights of 
stairs to reach the Historical Society rooms, and when reached, they 
were found to be in a congested and poorly lighted condition. Con- 
sequently the public did not use the Historical Society archives as 
freely as they otherwise would. As earlv as 1891, a committee 
was appointed by the Board of Managers of this Society to in- 
crease its membership, and we found that the difficulty of reaching 
the Society's rooms on the third floor of the Library Building was 



SENATOR HENRY \V. HILL. 9 

one of the principal objections advanced by Buffalonians to becom- 
ing members. However, this did not deter such well-known Buf- 
falonians as the late Judge James Sheldon, and that ripe classic 
scholar, James Frazer Gluck, both now deceased, from taking a deep 
interest in the welfare of this Society. Soon after assuming the ex- 
ecutive management of this organization, you made a study of its 
conditions and needs and presented plans for extending its sphere of 
usefulness in this community. These met with the approval of such 
vvell-known members as Edmund W. Granger, George H. Lewis, Dr 
Frederick H. James, Judge James Murdock Smith, Dr. Joseph C 
Greene, Cyrus K. Remington and George W. Townsend, all since 
deceased, but who, as occasion occurred, freely gave of their time and 
treasure to promote the welfare of the Society. They were its loyal 
and devoted friends. We should remember their solicitude for its 
success at times when it needed just such support as they were able 
to give to it. 

After full justice is done to all others, however, we feel that this 
Society and the city are under lasting obligation to you for what you 
have accomplished. As early as 1897, after the enactment of chapter 
310 of the Laws of 1897, authorizing the Society to build on Park 
lands, you had prepared for the uses of this Society plans of a build- 
ing, resembling the Matthew Laflin Memorial, in Lincoln Park, Chi- 
cago, which you presented to your associates and to the Board of 
Park Commissioners of this city. You sought to raise funds for the 
construction of such a building, which, though far less costly than 
this building, had many features of excellence for historical pur- 
poses. I need not recount the arguments advanced by those who 
favored, and by those who then opposed the movement from a down- 
town site to one on Park lands. Your familiarity with the location of 
such buildings in the parks of other cities of this and other countries 
greatly aided us in reaching a wise conclusion in that matter. People 
now recognize the propriety of the location of this Historical Society 
building. Had it not been possible to locate on park lands, it were 
not possible to have obtained State funds toward its construction. 
You will recall the conference of Judge James M. Smith, Dr. J. C. 
Greene, Hon. D. F. Day, Cyrus K. Remington, Dr. Albert H. Briggs, 
Frank H. Severance, yourself and myself, in the latter part of Sep- 
tember, 1897, at the Delaware Park, to decide upon a site for the 
Buffalo Historical Society building, and that such conferees favored 
the mound now occupied by the Albright Gallery of Art. Much dis- 
cussion ensued. The subsequent location of the Pan-American Ex- 
position, north of Delaware Park, necessitated the abandonment of 
that site, if the Historical Society were to take advantage of the State 
Building plan, as proposed at our monthly meeting on June i, 1899, 
in a resolution, which I presented on that occasion. 

The present site was decided upon at a meeting of the managers 
of this Society, the Commissioners on the part of the State of New 
York at the Pan-American Exposition, members of the Park Board 
and President John G. Milburn and some of the directors of the Pan- 
American Exposition Company held in December, 1899. The State 
Commissioners acceded to the arguments advanced for the location 
of the New York State Building on this site, instead of on the site 
originally proposed, upon which the Temple of Music was afterwards 



10 ADDRESSES OF 

erected. That made it possible to aggregate the three funds and se- 
cure a better building for the Pan-American Exposition and a per- 
manent home for this Society. 

I prepared and introduced on January i6, 1900, a bill in the As- 
sembly to accomplish that purpose, which became law. As a member 
of the Building Committee on the part of this Society, you rendered 
exceedingly valuable services. Fortunate, indeed, was this Society, 
at the time, in having one so willing and competent to serve it in that 
trying capacity. Week in and week out, you labored to accomplish 
the result which now crowns the work. It must not be forgotten that 
General Wilson S. Bissell, Hon. Charles W. Goodyear, Mr. G. Bar- 
rett Rich, Secretary Frank H. Severance and other members of this 
Board of Managers also counselled, advised and supplemented your 
efforts and rendered valuable service in this important matter. The 
Board of Park Commissioners favored the project and since the Ex- 
position have done much to beautify the grounds surrounding this 
building. 

This Society contributed $45,000, the City of Buffalo $25,000, and 
the State $100,000, towards the cost of this building. In addition to 
these sums, the most notable gift towards this building was the solid 
bronze doors, in its northerly entrance, which you presented to the 
Society. As works of art, it may be said, that they are not excelled 
by any in this country. They are embellished by female figures, 
which represent Ethnology and History, and are emblematic of the 
work of the Society. The bronze transom above the doors is adorned 
with two reclining figures, emblematic of Science and Art. These 
gates will endure long after this marble building has crumbled away. 
The munificence of this gift is one of the proofs of your loyalty to 
this Society and the quality of it evinces rare esthetic taste, that 
adorns and beautifies wherever it exists. These beautiful gates will 
refine and promote human happiness, for, as Keats says : 

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever." 

The Washington bust of Carrara marble, after the Stuart por- 
traits, the work of the eminent Florentine sculptor, Pugi, recently 
presented by you to this Society, is another evidence of your abiding 
interest in it. It was largely due to your forethought and efforts that 
the Society secured the Francis Memorial collection, and the bronze 
statue of Abraham Lincoln, but time does not permit me to enu- 
merate all that you have done for this Society during your nine years 
service as its president. 

During that time the Buffalo Historical Society may be said to 
have had a new birth. Its period of transition has passed. It has 
ceased to be a tenant and has become the owner of one of the finest 
Historical Society buildings in America. This Greek Doric temple 
and the Albright Ionic Gallery of Art, near at hand, with their rare 
collections and the replica of the gigantic statue of David by Michael 
Angelo, through your munificence soon to be placed in this vicinity, 
and other works of art and stately buildings that are likely to follow, 
whose "architecture," to adopt the phrase of Schelling, may be lik- 
ened unto "frozen music," will constitute an acropolis of fine arts in 
Delaware Park. 



SENATOR HENRY W. HILL. 



11 



As time goes on this Park, which 

"... didst appear so fair 
To fond imagination," 
Will "rival in the light of day 
Her delicate creation." 

Henceforth Buffalo, the city of commerce, with its diversified in- 
dustries, will have its classic buildings and works of art to awaken 
"ideals of beauty," which Ruskin has well said, "are among the 
noblest which can be presented to the human mind invariably exalt- 
ing and purifying it according to their degree." Conspicuous among 
these will be the superb building of the Buffalo Historical Society 
with its stately portico of Doric columns and beautiful gates, housing 
an historic collection of rare value, already widely and favorably 
known. This will both elevate and instruct. The Publications of 
this Society will become standard authorities and v/ill cover periods 
of time not hitherto adequately treated by other historians. The 
work of the Society will thus become educational and you will see 
fulfilled the highest ideals of historic research and historic exposi- 
tion. This is far in advance of the work that was possible to be done 
nine years ago. 

We feel that you have labored zealously to advance the interests 
of the Society and to extend its sphere of usefulness in this com- 
munity. You have contributed liberally of your time 
and treasure to make this a progressive institution. 
The impress you have left upon it is quite as notable 
as that of its first president, Millard Fillmore. 

In testimony of your faithful services and of the 
appreciation of your associates on the Board of Man- 
agers and of Mr. Edward D. Strickland, who has 
served in the capacity of assistant secretary during 
most of your presidency, I am requested to perform 
the pleasant duty of presenting to you this key of 
gold, bearing the inscription, "Board of Managers 
of the Buffalo Historical Society to Andrew Lang- 
don, 1901," to open the massive bronze gates that 
will forever attest your devotion to the Buffalo His- 
torical Society and perpetuate your name in memory 
as one of its most munificent benefactors. 




LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



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